Our Trip to San
Francisco - Pumpkin Country
 What
a surprise to find out about the pumpkin industry on the coast! I
had Dennis almost insane with all the 'pumpkin photo ops' I asked for!
I just could not pass a pumpkin farm! Each fall, thousands of Bay
Area residents visit the coastside to pick pumpkins from the picturesque
fields along Highways 1 and 92. About 3,000 tons of pumpkins are grown
each year by 15 or so commercial growers in the Half Moon Bay area. They
ship pumpkins all over the United States and sell to many of the large
retailers in the Bay Area. As always, this year there's a bumper crop. |
 The
pumpkin boom can be traced back to growers in the area who began to plant
pumpkins in the 1930's. In the early 30’s, teenager John Arata and his
brother Clarence began planting pumpkin seeds to feed the family’s hogs.
One day, they were hauling some of their pumpkins along Highway 1 back
to the farm when a passing motorist stopped and asked if he could buy a
few. The Arata’s sold the pumpkins for a quarter and a booming pumpkin-picking
business and tourist attraction was born.
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